


a collar full of chemistry

by slytherinaleister (irlbigfoot)



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel), PlayChoices
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fuck Everett Rourke, He Ain't Even In This I Just Wanted To Say That, Height Differences, Matchmaking, Meddling Kids, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Teaching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-10 18:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10444206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlbigfoot/pseuds/slytherinaleister
Summary: the high school teachers au that nobody asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> warning: more staring than twilight

Bridget Pierce gazed around her newly-decorated classroom in satisfaction. The classroom was still unfortunately cramped, though hopefully the posters she had plastered all over the walls made it look a bit less dreadfully beige. It was the blonde woman's first day as an English teacher at Havenbrook High, and she was determined to make a good first impression.

“What do you think, Willy?” She asked, cocking her head at the giant poster of William Shakespeare behind her desk.

William stared at her.

“Well,” Bridget said, sighing and taking a seat on her stool, smoothing out her sleeveless red blouse. “It’ll have to do. Now, just gotta wait for the kids.” She glanced at the clock- ten minutes until the start of class. If these teens were anything like her when she was in high school, she doubted many would be showing up for the next nine minutes.

“Sophomores,” She murmured, drumming her fingers against her cheek. “ _Hmmm_. Should be alright. It’s the morning, it’s not like they’re gonna be too rowdy or anything. Half of 'em will still be asleep. I mean, that’s not good either, but at least they won’t be yelling like a bunch of chimpanzees. Not til the afternoon.” Bridget frowned, taking a sip of her coffee. “Ugh, I am _not_ in a hurry for third and fourth period. I-”

Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat by the door, and saw a petite redhead walk in, somewhat hesitantly. Bridget felt her face redden. _Great. I’m gonna get a reputation as the crazy teacher who talks to her posters._

Slowly, more and more students poured in- some chattering among one another, but most just slumped in their chairs and doodled or texted silently. It looked like Bridget was right about most of the students being particularly sluggish in the morning.

As soon as the clock struck 8:45, Bridget leapt into action. Sitting up straighter on her stool, she grabbed a couple sheets of paper from her desk. “ _Alright!_ ” She said sharply, jolting a few people awake. “Let’s get started, shall we? Now, my name’s Miss Pierce, and I’m going to be replacing Mrs. Taylor as your English teacher.” She softened her voice. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been up since six and I _still_ feel half-asleep. So, let’s just start out with some attendance- _please_ tell me if I pronounce your name wrong, or if you go by a nickname or anything. First off…”

The rest of the morning flew by- after the sophomores came the freshmen, who were a bit more rambunctious, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. And, as the last of the ninth-graders shuffled out of the room, Bridget let out a sigh of relief.

“We made it,” She muttered, reaching down to grab her tote bag from underneath her desk. “Now, time to actually interact with some adults. _Bleh_.”

As Bridget gazed at the door labelled “STAFF ROOM”, she was reminded of her days in high school- every time the introverted girl would try to enter the cafeteria, she'd turn tail and retreat back underneath the staircase.

Standing there now, in the quiet hallway, it looked like nothing had changed. "Nope," Bridget muttered under her breath, promptly spinning around, stepping forward and smacking right into a purple blur. " _Whoa_!"

" _Shoot_ , sorry," The voice apologized. Bridget realized that she had smacked right into a tanned man wearing a purple, short-sleeved plaid shirt. _A fellow teacher. Wonderful._

Bridget supposed that she should attempt to make a good impression on at least one person before hiding in her classroom for the rest of the hour. "What are _you_ apologizing for? I'm the one who mowed you over." She held out a hand hesitantly. "Uh, Bridget Pierce- I'm the new English teacher."

"Diego Ortiz Soto, Social Studies." The man said, shaking her hand with a smile. "Pierce, huh? I've heard about you."

"Good things only, I hope." Bridget was only half-joking.

Diego grinned. "So far." He then gestured to the door. "Uh, you going in?"

" _Uh..._ " Bridget paused, fiddling with her tote bag. "I mean, I _was_ , but- I don't know. I might just head back up to the classroom..."

Diego looked at her, understandingly. "Hey, I get it." He said, shrugging casually. "When I first started out it took me a whole _week_ before I got up the courage to walk in there. Gotta say, that week wasn't very fun. How about we walk in together?"

Bridget blinked. The clanging and chattering coming from behind the door seemed to intensify. _This is it, Bridget, this is your chance to turn back_. "...Yeah. Sure." She found herself saying.

Diego smiled at her, and pushed open the door.

To Bridget's surprise, despite the loud noise emitting from it, the room wasn't all that bad on the inside. About five round tables were scattered around, along with a cozy-looking couch and a kitchen area.

"Come sit with me?" Diego suggested. "I usually just sit by myself. Pretty pathetic, I know."

Bridget chuckled. " _Pathetic_? I'm the one who was too scared to even come in." Together, the two of them made their way over to a smaller table in the corner.

 _"Now_!" Diego rubbed his hands together as they sat. "Here comes my favorite part of making new friends: time for me to gossip about our coworkers. And by that, of course, I mean introduce you to everyone. First of all- the gym teachers." Diego leaned in close and pointed to a table in the middle, occupied by a handsome dark-skinned man and a buff Asian guy. "Sean Gayle and Craig Hsiao. Sean's a pretty nice guy, but Craig's a bit more... y'know. He hasn't really grown out of his high-school-jock phase."

As Diego spoke, a heavyset man with shaggy curls walked over to Sean and Craig's table, pulled up a chair and started talking casually. The conversation soon became punctuated with laughter from all three of them.

"Raj Bhandarkar," Diego said, as if reading Bridget's mind. "Home Economics and Business. He's one of the nicest guys on the staff- he can make just about anybody laugh. Really good guy."

"Students must like him," Bridget observed, nibbling at her croissant daintily.

"Yeah." Bridget looked over to Diego to see that he had a slight smile on his face. "He- yeah."

Bridget raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment. "What about that girl, near them?"

Sitting at a table close to Sean, Craig and Raj, was a pretty blonde girl in a pink top, looking to be marking papers intensely.

"Michelle Nguyen- Biology." Diego explained. "She's wickedly smart- could've become a brain surgeon if she wanted to. She usually sits with Craig and Sean and Raj when she's not marking."

Bridget looked around. "So... is this it?"

"Pretty much yeah." Diego took a bite of his sandwich. "There's not a lot of people in here, usually- I know McKenzie- the auto teacher- usually eats in the shop. Quinn Kelly's usually here, but she's probably sick again- the flu or something, I think. Namazi is-" He paused. "Actually, I don't know where Namazi goes during lunch. It's probably better that way. Oh, and I usually see Grace and Aleister marking stuff in their classrooms- they're both super reserved. And-"

“What about... _her_?” Bridget asked, her gaze falling on a dark-haired girl sitting alone in a corner opposite them.

“Oh,” Diego’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Estela Montoya- she’s the Spanish teacher. Came here at the beginning of the year, nobody knows from where. She keeps to herself most of the time. She actually comes here, though, which makes her way more sociable than, like, half of the staff.”

“Hmmm,” Bridget said, staring at the woman in curiosity. There was something about her that just seemed so... _intriguing_.

Suddenly, the dark-haired beauty looked up sharply, making eye contact with Bridget and revealing a small scar near her eye.

 _Oh shit._ Bridget felt her cheeks redden. Normally she'd look away meekly, but for some reason she found herself holding the mysterious woman's gaze, even cocking an eyebrow- almost as if challenging her.

For a few moments, neither looked away.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Estela pulled her eyes back down to the papers on her table. Bridget took a bite of her croissant to hide the smirk tugging at her lips.

She then looked at Diego, who, luckily, had returned to his lunch. "So," She said, changing the subject. "From what I'm getting, most people here are complete introverts?"

Diego nodded. "Save for those four? Yeah, pretty much. Even me."

" _You_?" Bridget raised an eyebrow. "I met you, like, five minutes ago and we're already eating lunch together."

Diego shrugged. "I dunno. I'm normally pretty shy, but something about you just seems... trustworthy. If that makes sense. Like, you're easy to talk to."

"Trustworthy. _Interesting_." Bridget hummed, tapping her chin with one finger.

Diego cocked an eyebrow, grinning. "Uh-oh. Am I gonna regret telling you that?"

Bridget shrugged playfully. As the two continued talking, she couldn't get the woman's- Estela's- face out of her head. The dark-haired beauty was a mystery waiting to be unraveled- and Bridget always liked a good challenge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aleister in this chapter may or may not be based off of one of my teachers

"Out of my way!” Mia Zhang sprinted down the hall, books clutched under her arm like a football. If this were any other Monday morning, perhaps she would have stopped to marvel at her athletic skills and consider talking to Mr Gayle about trying out for the team- but the dark-haired girl couldn’t afford to waste time. She stumbled up the stairs, two steps at a time, nearly bent over at the waist. As she reached the top, Mia let out a sigh of relief- only to turn the corner and come face-to-face with a crowded, complicated maze of procrastinated students. The hallway was absolutely brimming, groups pushed up against doors and lockers.  
  
The small girl felt her brow furrow in frustration. That was _it_. She opened her mouth and let out a big holler, “Move it! I have _Rourke_!”  
  
Those magical words caused the crowd to part like the red sea. Mia ignored the sympathetic looks flashed her way as she dashed down the hall as if her academic career depended on it- which it did. Mr. Rourke was notoriously... _fickle_ , let's say.  
  
Finally, she reached the door. Skidding to a stop, she tossed her head back and dramatically gulped down the last of her sugar-rush-inducing latte, before strutting through the door.  
  
Mr Rourke was sitting at his desk, marking papers. “Miss Zhang.” The pale-haired man said, not looking up, though his sneer was audible. “Finally, you have decided to grace us with your presence- with only thirty seconds to spare, no less. You’re now a senior, are you not? I would expect you to have _some_ semblance of time management by now.”  
  
Mia was unperturbed. “And a good morning to you too, Mr. Rourke!” She greeted cheerfully, tossing her cup in the garbage with perfect aim- screw football, she thought, already imagining herself in an oh-so-stylish basketball jersey. “And I’ll start working on being earlier, I promise!” Quickly, she joined her lab partner, Beatrice Wilder, at their shared desk.  
  
“You’re so lucky,” Bea whispered as Mia dumped her books unceremoniously on the table. “I was late last week, and he didn’t let me in for half an hour! Then he lectured me for ‘disrupting the class’.”  
  
Mia shrugged as she opened her textbook, turning to the brunette. “But you haven’t been late since, riiiiight?" She nudged the girl with her elbow. "I mean, I don’t really enjoy his teaching methods either, but you have to admit they work.” She cocked her head. “Y’know, I don’t get why everybody’s so scared of him. I bet this no-nonsense thing is just an act, and he’s a huge softie undern-”  
  
She was cut off by the sound of Mr. Rourke slamming the door shut, causing all the students to flinch in unison.  
  
“Ladies and gentlemen, class has _started_ , which means your books are _open_." Mr. Rourke's tone was clipped as he stood at the front of the classroom, arms crossed. "Now, we are a couple weeks into this course- I assume you are not _entirely_ incompetent and are able to remember what page we left off on in Friday's class. Now...”

* * *

Aleister sighed, rubbing his forehead wearily as he looked over the exams he had just finished typing up. The morning hadn’t been entirely disastrous- the seniors weren’t too disruptive, but the sophomores after certainly compensated for that.  
  
Hitting ‘PRINT’, the tall man stood up and made his way out of the classroom, making sure to lock it behind him. As Aleister strode down the hall, he occasionally flashed a glare at the rowdy clusters of teenagers sitting by the lockers. He was nearly at the stairs before he felt something crumple under his foot. Scowling, he came to a stop and bent down to pick up the offending object- an empty chip bag. Rolling his eyes as he straightened up, Aleister was about to continue on his way before he noticed which door he’d stopped in front of- room 206.  
  
Adjusting his cardigan as he casually peered through the open door, he saw a dark-skinned woman in an orange sweater facing away from him, sat at a desk, sipping at a cup of tea and marking papers serenely. His chest ached for a second. _Grace Hall_.

While the two had never actually... talked, Aleister was familiar with the AP Biology teacher- as he was with any other member of the staff, of course. From what he observed, the woman seemed to ~~be exceptionally brilliant~~ have a good head on her shoulders- when she did speak up at staff meetings (which was a rare occurence), she was refreshingly rational, and would bring up ~~many~~ some reasonable points. Her intelligence was a breath of fresh air compared to the other imbeciles that somehow qualified to be teachers.

Another trait of Ms Hall that Aleister had found himself- er, _observing_ \- was her compassion. Many a time he had passed by her classroom after school, on his way home after a long day, to overhear her tutoring some helpless burnout. No matter how difficult the student would find it to understand the most basic of concepts, her voice would remain soft and calm. It was- dare-he-say- _admirable_.  
  
He stood at the door. _Perhaps..._ He cautiously raised his fist to the door-frame, before deciding against it. The woman was obviously busy- it would be best not to disturb her. Quickly, he took off down the hall, sneering at the clumps of students lining the staircase.

It took him about ten minutes to realize that he was still clenching the crumpled chip bag in his fist.

* * *

 " _Hey, Bridget_!" Bridget was surprised as she walked into the staff-room (a bit more confidently than she had the week prior) to find her friend, Diego, standing further away from the doorway but still in view of the hall. The man appeared to be chatting with the two Home Economics teachers. "How's your second week going?"

Bridget shrugged, self-consciously smoothing out her crimson cardigan as she made her way over to the small group- though she had been at the school for a while now, she had yet to actually socialize with anyone other than Diego. "Not too bad, I suppose. I feel like the students still aren't sure _what_ to think of me." As she stood beside Diego, she glanced over the other teachers- Quinn Kelly, a cute redheaded woman who was usually off sick, and Raj Bhandarkar, one of the most easygoing teachers in the school who, rumor had it, had an appreciation for... certain medicinal substances (not that Bridget particularly minded)- before making eye contact with Diego and mouthing, ' _You? Socializing?_ ' incredulously.

Diego just shrugged sheepishly. His eyes went to Raj for a moment, and Bridget nodded in understanding. It figured that the most charismatic teacher had managed to get the apparently-shy Diego out of his shell.

Bridget tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Raj deliver the punchline of a joke. "...her aim is getting better!" Raj finished, grinning as Quinn exploded into a fit of giggles. Bridget chuckled politely under her breath, despite missing the joke.

Also having tuned out the beginning was Diego, who then- to the barely-concealed bewilderment of his blonde friend- proceeded to tilt his head back and laugh as if he'd heard the funniest joke known to man. And, since it was Raj it very well could've been, but that was beside the point- Diego hadn't even heard it.

Luckily, Quinn was also laughing, so that made things a bit less... obvious. As her laughter began to die down so did Diego's, and the man's dark eyes sparkled as he patted Raj on the back twice good-naturedly (and a bit stiffly, Bridget noted).

"Wow, Raj," Diego beamed up at the man, withdrawing his hand. "I knew you were a funny guy, but damn."

Raj grinned sheepishly- the first time Bridget had ever seen him look 'sheepish'- as he ran a hand through his shaggy locks. "Heh, thanks, Soto."

As Quinn chimed in with an anecdote of her own, Bridget was about to flash Diego a very subtle eyebrow-wiggle before something else caught her eye- or rather, _someone_.

Estela Montoya, the enigmatic Spanish teacher, entered the room, head tilted low. Ever since her first day, Bridget had barely seen the dark-haired woman- not even in the halls. She made her way past the small group, and towards her usual table in the corner. Estela took off her blue jacket, revealing a plain white shirt underneath ~~and some surprisingly strong-looking arms~~ , and put it over her chair before heading over to the coffee machine. She reached up to grab a mug from the cupboard overhead, then began to make prepare herself a cup.

Bridget found herself studying the women's tanned, lean arms, the muscles of which rippled each time they moved.

It was only natural to be so curious about how a Spanish teacher was so... _athletically-inclined_ , she told herself.

Upon finishing, the woman leaned against the counter and took a sip of her coffee. As she raised the cup to her mouth, her eyes met Bridget's.

Bridget froze, only barely registering the sounds of the others chatting beside her, and another teacher standing in the now-open doorway, conversing with a student. She had the sudden urge to run a hand through her hair or check to make sure her mascara wasn't running, yet she felt as if she were a deer trapped in headlights, unable to move.

Estela's eyes glimmered as she cocked her head, curious and cat-like, and Bridget noticed the small scar adorning her face. If this were any other time, her mind would be racing, trying to figure out how she got the wound, but all she could think about was the woman and her golden eyes ~~and her really nice arms~~.

For what felt like hours (but was probably just a couple minutes) the women's gazes remained locked, each of their eyes narrowed in curiosity. Finally, Estela cocked an eyebrow, approving or challenging, the blonde wasn't sure. Bridget narrowed her eyes, before-"

" _Bridget! Earth to Bridget_!"

She found herself tearing her gaze away from the woman and to Diego, who, alongside Raj and Quinn, were looking at her in half-amusement, half-concern. "You alright?"

"Oh, just spaced out," Bridget said lamely. "Uh, you were saying, Quinn?"

The redhead's face brightened. "Oh! Oh yeah! _So_..."

* * *

"I can’t believe you’d do this!”  
  
“ _Oh-ho-ho_ , believe it, buddy!”  
  
“You _heard_ me telling Hsiao that I was going to book the lab!”  
  
“How’s it _my_ fault that _you_ were too slow?”  
  
“Look, what do you even need the lab for? You teach _mechanics_!”  
  
“I could ask you the same damn thing- you’re a _gym_ teacher!”  
  
The students that populated the library stared in a mixture of excitement and shocked silence as they watched Mr. Gayle and Mr. McKenzie argue back and forth in front of the lab sign-up sheets, foreheads almost touching. Suddenly-  
  
“ _Gentlemen_ ,” The librarian interrupted the two men, tone even as she crossed her arms pointedly at them from behind the front desk. “If you are unable to converse quietly amongst yourselves, I _suggest_ you take this outside.”  
  
“Of course.” Sean was the first to apologize to the irritated woman, looking rather bashful as he stepped away from the brown-haired man.  
  
“Oh yeah, _no problem_ ,” Even as he spoke to the librarian Jake glared at Sean, tone almost growl-like and fists clenched. “You know what? I was on my way out anyways.” And with that he spun around, hair flipping in the air dramatically, before stalking out of the library.

There was complete silence, before the usual hushed chattering began again. And...

" _Bhish ish etting eaking idicooluh_!"

Alex Underwood stared at her best friend as little bits of lettuce dangled from her stuffed mouth. "Huh?"

Mia swallowed her sandwich with a big gulp, before leaning over and repeating in a harsh whisper, "I said, this is getting freakin' _ridiculous_!"

The brown-skinned girl continued to look at her friend blankly. "Uh, what is?"

"Haven't you seen it? It's all over Snapchat!" Mia exclaimed. "First, Mr Rourke stood in Ms Hall's doorway all creepy-like and watched her mark papers for like, two whole minutes. Mr. Soto laughed so hard at Mr B's joke it was like he was having an asthma attack. That new teacher- Ms Pierce- and Ms Montoya were having a staring contest. And now _this_!" Her arms flared wildly. "Alex, don't you see? This school has a problem!"

"And what problem is that?' The student athlete asked, thick brows furrowed.

"Their sandwiches suck!" Mia declared, spitting out a mouthful into a napkin. " _Also_ , all the teachers are a bunch of emotionally-constipated pansies who don't know how to deal with their crushes!"

"Whoa, whoa, _crushes_?" Alex was hesitant, as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "First of all- I don't think Mr Rourke likes anybody but hi- wait no, scratch that, dude probably doesn't even like _himself_. And, like... _Ms_ _Hall_? Really? She's so... sweet. And tiny. And he's..."

"But they're both super smart and science-y and all that," Mia argued. "And yeah, so Mr Rourke's a bit... rough around the edges, but Ms Hall could bring out the best in him!"

"Okay, but Mr. Soto and Mr. B? Maybe the two are just good friends." The brunette suggested.

Mia stared at her friend. "Alex, come on, I thought we were _homiesexuals_ \- you've seen the two of them before! If that's how you think friends act then what are we? Acquaintances?"

Alex shrugged. "I just don't see it. And Ms Pierce and Ms Montoya-"

"Were straight up reenacting Twilight!" Mia interrupted, running a hand through her curly undercut. "Also, have you _seen_ Montoya's arms? Who _wouldn't_ be digging that?"

"Fair point." Alex relented. "But there's no way in gay hell you can convince me that Gayle and McKenzie have a _thing_ for one another. Arguing doesn't always equal sexual tension."

"Okay, maybe right now they're not quite a good match." Mia held up a finger- " _But_ just give it time- soon they're gonna have to settle their differences, maybe even learn to appreciate and grow from them. Sooner or later they're gonna be forced to cooperate, and then maybe they'll learn the other's not _soooo_ bad after all. They can't hate each other forever!"

"They can, and will." Alex said flatly. "Okay, Hall and Rourke... _maybe_ could work. Maybe. But it won't happen- you know that Rourke'll fuck up and say something shitty eventually. Pierce and Montoya- Pierce is alright, I guess, but Montoya is straight-up shady! She's probably a government agent or something!"  
  
" _Hmmmmmmmmmmm_." Mia tapped her chin.

Alex groaned. "Oh no. I know that look." She muttered.

"Well, if you're so sure of yourself," Mia declared, pushing her chair back and standing up dramatically. "Let's make a deal! If _every one_ of those couples get together by the end of the year, I win! If they don't, you do. Loser does whatever the winner wants. Whattya say?"

The librarian shushed her from across the room, and Mia grinned sheepishly at her before bending down so she was eye-level with Alex.

Alex smirked, her competitive nature surfacing. "It's on." She whispered.

The two shook hands, grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you got the gravity falls reference i love you

**Author's Note:**

> hi everybody, i hope you enjoyed the first chapter! this is just a little glimpse into the world of havenbrook high (emphasis on little, i'm going to try and make the following chapters a bit longer!). the next chapter will really kick things off for all the characters, and will happen a week or two after this one (which takes place at the end of september).


End file.
